1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a consumable switching arrangement particularly for circuit-breakers of the kind used in power stations, transformer substations and other equipment appertaining to the supply of electrical power for the purpose of switching operating currents and overcurrents on and off.
2. Discussion of Background
EP-B-0 177 714 discloses a generic consumable switching arrangement in which the first switching member is designed as a contact tulip with a plurality of relatively long, parallel contact fingers distributed over the periphery thereof. It has been shown that such an arrangement is susceptible to damage at high currents, since the contact fingers carry parallel currents and are therefore pulled toward one another by electromagnetic forces. This can lead to the contact fingers being bent and twisted. As a result, the friction forces between switching pin and contact fingers can also reach very high values, so that large driving forces are necessary and a high degree of abrasion occurs on the switching pin and the contact fingers. Since, as a rule, the contact fingers are separated only by narrow slots, they offer, moreover, a small consumable reserve since their radial freedom of movement is limited.